Dallas Cowboys Training Camp: Top-5 position battles to watch in 2020
By Reid Hanson
Dallas Cowboys Battle No. 4: Left Guard
Primary Competition: Conner Williams, Connor McGovern
Something we discussed just this last week is the battle for starting left guard. In what we dubbed, “The Battle of the Connors”, Connor Williams and Connor McGovern are duking it out for the starting spot next to Tyron Smith this season.
Williams, a former left tackle and top-50 pick, has the advantage since he has athleticism and NFL experience on his side. But McGovern, an actual college guard and former top-100 pick, has the benefit of positional experience and years of controllability.
Both are highly skilled, young, and accomplished college players so both are pretty decent options for the Dallas Cowboys this season. Fans may be down on Williams since he didn’t take that next step last season, but the guy still rated as an average NFL starting guard last season and hasn’t even come close to entering his prime.
McGovern is the optimal option based on controllability. Since the Dallas Cowboys are unlikely to re-sign either player after their rookie deals end (already committed to Smith, Collins, Martin). and Williams is only under contract for two-years while McGovern is here for three.
The curveball in this whole thing is the battle at center. McGovern is also a former college center and if he ends up looking like the best center, then the Dallas Cowboys may just hand the job at guard to Williams for another year. Which brings us to our next most important battle to watch…